I have a hard time believing that it's possible for anyone to complete this Nightfall without hiding under the stairs or using some other cheese that I'm not aware of.
If you did it, post here and explain how.
I probably won't believe you anyway, but if you really did it, I'm impressed!
edit: The actual question is, did you do it without any kind of cheese whatsoever.
So, if you hid under the stairs or on top of the lights or did anything else other than face him straight up, your answer should be "NO".
next edit: I changed the title so people might stop misunderstanding the point of the question.
I think the answer is about 50/50, cheese/no-cheese.
The answer to no-cheese seems to be Titan bubble, weapons of light and gyllenhoorns, lots and lots of gajyllenhoorns.
I've done it that way on normal, but this time there were a ton more (and tougher) enemies in the room before Valus spawned.
The shields on the psions were ridiculous.
Hiding under the stairs made it a problem to use the gyllenhoorn but hunter invisibility helped a bit.
I'll try it again next time w/ a Titan.
Good thread. Thanks!
final edit: I guess different people have different definitions of "cheese".
IMO, hiding in a spot where you are enclosed on all sides and the enemy can't get to you at all (as long as you stand in the right spot), but you can still hit them, is "cheesy", meaning "cheap".
NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT.
Hey, I think using a fire team full of gajigglyhorns is kinda cheesy too, but whatever works.
I'm not judging anyone for playing cheesy - I do it all the time.
I guess what I mean by cheese is a strategy (legit or not) that takes most/all of the intended challenge and risk out of a task.
Sometimes, especially when it's a strike I've done a million times, I don't care about the challenge, I just want to get it done, so I do it the cheesiest way possible.
Other times the challenge and difficulty are what makes it fun.
In my opinion, it's your game and you can play it however you'd like - as long as it doesn't get you banned or piss off the people you're playing with (too much).
-
Also, I started reading the comments after I posted... So many people say "it's not cheesing" when you hide under those crates. Come on... Do you really believe that? Get real. Just think of it this way.. If you have defeated valus in a strike (countless times) you should try and play the nightfall with a similar tactic, but of course more cautious. Just realize when the enemies will start spawning, when valus will start moving, and most importantly, when those goddamn psions come out. (His health bar is the indicator.) Also, know where the enemies are coming from... Get them quick before they spread out. I feel nightfall is the true test of the elite strike players. What grinds my gears - people that hide under the stairs in a regular roc strike. Like.. Why? You can respawn in 30 seconds if things hit the fan.. Especially 32s.. How did u get there if you still need to hide?